Surgical-bandage fastener.



J. H. THOMAS.

SURGICAL BANDAGE FASTENER.

APPLICATION men JULY 22,1918.

L g :1 15% U I Patented J an. 14, 1919.

UBI I r l mums Pn'clu cmmmmuma. wsnmcmm a c JUHN H. THOMAS, OF MOUNTVERNON, NEW YORK. j

SUEGrICAL-BANDAGE FASTENEHJ.

Specification of Letters Patent.

ratenteu Jan it, isle,

Application filed July 22, 1918. Serial No. arenas.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JOHN H. THOMAS, a citizenof the United States, residing at Mount Vernon, in the county ofWestchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulimprovements in Sui gical-Bandage Fasteners, of which the tollowing is aspecification.

This invention relates to surgical bandage fasteners and is designedmore particularly as an improvement upon the bandage fastener shown anddescribed in my copending"applioationfiled January 22, 1917,

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Serial No. 143,763.

As in my said copending application, one object of the present inventionis to provide means whereby a gauze bandage. may be more conveniently,securely and expeditiously applied than by the ordinary methods. Inapplying bandages by the ordinary methods the exercise of considerableskill is required in reversing the bandage and in over-folding the samein carrying it about the part to be bandaged in the vari ous directionsfound necessary in each particular case, and unless this operation isskilfully performed there is likelihood that the bandage will work looseor, become otherwise displaced. Therefore the invention has as itsobject to provide an appliance in the use of which a gauze bandage maybe quickly and conveniently applied and reversed, overturned and carriedat different angles to suit the particular case without any particularattention being paid to the temporary holding in place of the bandage atthe folds or points of reversal, and the improvedbandage fastener of thepresentinvention is designed especially to provide for the applicationof bandages to broken. limbs or to other parts of the body where it isdesirable or necessary to employ bandage fastening strips, such as areembodied in the invention, extending at right angles, acute angles, orobtuse angles with relation to each other, and in this particular theinvention is an improvement over the fastener shown in the saidcopending application as in that instance, with the exception of amodification it was possible only to employ two or more strips byarranging them parallel or in alinement with one another. a v y i In themodification referred to as sin braced by the copending application thestrips were pivotally connected together, but the present improvementcontemplates so constructing the strips that employment of pivotalconnections is entirely obviated, and a long strip may be cut into anyde sired number of shorter lengths and all of the lengths connectedtogether to assume various angles with respect to each other so thatthere is a wider range of adjustment provided for than would be possiblein the use vof a positive pivotal connection between such strips, aswhen a true pivotal connection is provided it is necessary that thestrips or sections be initially connected together thus giving littlechoice in the so lection of desired lengths of strips, unless indeedthere is a waste of strips occasioned by cutting ofii surplus lengths atthe opposite sides of the pivotal connection.

in the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating one form of the bandagefastener employed in securing a bandage applied to an arm at andadjacent the elbow joint;

Fig. 2 is a plan view illustrating a modilication of the invention inwhich the strips comprising the fastener are connected at right anglesto each other;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the form of strip shown in Fig. 1. i

As in the original structure, the bandage fastener of the presentinvention is in the nature of a strip 1 oi? thin sheet metal, this stripbeing pliable whereby it may be readily constructed to conform to thecontour of any part of the body against which it is disposed and overwhich a bandage is to be laid, the strip being furthermore suliicientlythin to permit of its being severed at anydesired point in its length sothat from a long length of the fastening device, shorter lengths may becut and suitably joined together for disposal against the part to bebandaged. At intervals the strip is formed close to its longitudinalmiddle with pliable bandage piercing fingers 2 having pointed ends 3,the said ends or terminals of the fingers being hardened so as to adaptthe fingers to readily pierce a gauze bandage laid over the strip in theact of bandaging the injured part. inwardly of their hardened termiafterthey have pierced the bandage, they may be turned down to extend overthe outer l o e andage and thus. secure the same in place. The fingersmay be of any desired marginal contour, but are preferably of lanceolateform'and by reference to the several figures of the drawings it will beobserved that in both forms of the invention the fingers are locatedthroughout the series alternately at opposite sides of the longitudinalmiddle of the strip but close to the median line as before pointed out.The

strip is further formed opposite the base of each finger 2, with a slot4 and any one of these slots in a, length vof the device may receive afinger of another length of the device, as in the original. invention,whereby when 'the finger is bent down, the two lengths will be connectedtogether but in alinement. However, the present invention contemplates,as before pointed out, the-provision of means whereby the strips orlengths maybe connected together to extend at right angles, at acuteangles, or. at obtuse angles to each other so, as to. properly conformto the bend in the limb .to'be bandaged or to the contour of any otherpart of the body to be bandaged.

order to accomplish the result above mentioned, the strip in that formof the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings, is provided atintervals near its longitudinal edges with slots 5 which are disposed atangles of inclination to the said edges and consequently also to thelongitudinal median line of the strip, and the slots at the oppositesides of the middle of the strip. are, preferably alternately inclinedin pposite directions; that is to say, the slots near one. edge of thestrip will be correspondingly inclined in one direction and the slotsadj cut the other edge of the strip will be correspondingly inclined inthe opposite direction. In F ig. 1 two of the strips of the form shownin Fig. 3 have been assembled with their ends overlapping, and thefinger at one end of one strip has been inserted through one of theslots 5 and bent down so as to. connect the two strips, the strips inthis particular instance ext-ending at an obtuse angle with relation toeach other. However, had the said finger been engaged in one of theslots 5 at the opposite side or edge, of the other strip, the stripswould have been connected to extend at an acute angle With relation toeach other.

In that form, ofthe invention shown in ,ig 2 of the drawings, slots 6are formed in the strip near the lateral edges thereof but, these slots,unlike the slots 5, extend at right anglesv to the respective edges ofthe strips and consequently at right angles to the l ongitudinal'medianline of the strip. Consequently when the strips are assembled with theirends overlapping asv shown in. 2 and one of the fingers is insertedthrough one of the slots 6 and bent down, the strips will be connectedin position extending relatively at right angles to each other. Insteadof overlapping the ends of both strips, the end of one strip may bedisposed to overlap an intermediate portion of the otherstrip and thestrips then be secured together in the manner stated so as to provide afastener of substantially T- form. Furthermore, returning to aconsideration of the form shown in Figs. 1 and 3, a third strip could beconnected with the strips shown in Figs. 1 and 3 the fastener would thenassume a Y-form. In fact the strips illustrated in the drawings may bevariously arranged as will be understood from an inspection of the saiddrawings and from the foregoing description so that a fastener ofsubstantially any shape may be quickly and readily built up from aplurality of the selected lengths of the strip or strips and without theemployment of any direct pivotal connection.

In the original structure, the slots corresponding tothe slots 5 and .6were all arranged to extend parallel to the lateral edges of the stripand consequently to the longitudinal median line of the strip and itwill be understood from the foregoing that the improvement in thepresent invention lies in the arrangement of the slots so that they willbe non-parallel to the said edges or lon itudinal median line of thestrip and this is, broadly speaking, true inasmuch as the slots mayassume other angles vthan those shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

It is preferable that the slots 5 and 6 be furthermore equidistantlyspaced and in fact spaced at predetermined intervals from each other so.that knowing the length of strip desired for use, the same may bereadily cut off from a longer length by noting the positions of theslots and therefore without the necessity of employing a rule for thispurpose. 110

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A bandage fastener comprising a pliable base strip, and a bandagepiercing finger projecting from the strip, the said 115 strip beingprovided with a slot extending non-parallel to the longitudinal medianline of the strip, whereby two of the fasteners may be joined at anangle to each other by engaging the finger of one fastener through 12-"the. slot of the other fastener.

2. A bandage fastener comprising a pliable base strip, and a fingerprojecting from one face of the strip and designed to pierce a bandagelaid over the strip, the 125 strip being formed with a series of slotsextending non-parallel to the longitudinal median line of the strip,whereby two of the fasteners may be joined at an angle to each other byengaging the finger of one fastener in one of the slots in the otherfastener.

3. In a bandage fastener, a pliable base strip, and a series of bandagepiercing fingers projecting from the face of said strip,

the strip ,being formed at intervals with slots extending non-parallelto the longitudinal median line of the said strip, Wherev strip, and afinger projecting) from one face v of the strip and having its separallel to the longitudinal median line of the strip, the said striphaving a slot formed therein and extending non-parallel to the saidlongitudinal, median line of the strip, where by two of the fastenersmay be joined at an angle to each other by engaging the finger of onefastener in the slot in the other fastener.

5. In a bandage fastener, a pliable base strip, and a series of bandagepiercing fingers projecting from one face of the strip,

the seriesg of fingers extending longitudinally of the, strip, and thesaid strip being formed adjacent each edge with a series of slotsnon-parallel to the said edge, the slots at one side of the strip beingdisposed at an angle of; .inclination in one direction and the slots atthe other side of the strip being ,disposed at 1 an angle of inclinationin the opposite* direction, whereby tWo of the strips maybe joined atvarious angles to each other by engaging a selected one of the fingers'of one of the strips in a selected one of the slots of the other strip.

In testimon whereof I affix n1 signature.

'JO N H. THOMA. [Ls] Copies or this patent may be obtained tor-Me centseach, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, wu hinflol, D, 0."

